


In the Current of You

by DaniJayNel



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, First Meeting, Lesbian Romance, Mermaids, Werewolf/mermaid, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28716243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: Lowe, a solitary werewolf, and Cleo, a wandering mermaid, meet for the first time underneath a full moon and twinkling stars. Despite their differences there's a spark of something warm between them, and maybe they're not afraid to discover what it is.
Relationships: Lowe (OC)/Cleo (OC
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	In the Current of You

**Author's Note:**

> This was a specific request. Thank you Amy <3

The first time Lowe met her, it was with a shiver of danger rocking down her bent spine. She was crouched in the river water, washing the dirt from beneath her claws. She rarely walked in her human form, since remaining as the wolf was always more practical, and she found it easier to bathe with less fur and smaller hands. 

Lowe stood abruptly, water cascading down her hips and thighs. Her eyes glowed in the darkness as she bared her teeth, letting a rumble of warning fall from her mouth. Something was swimming closer to her, and with her hackles suddenly risen, she could sense it was something dangerous.

She did not enjoy conflict. In fact, Lowe was a solitary wolf. Others of her kind happily formed packs and bonds, but Lowe stuck to her own two hands and the quietness of the trees. It was an oddity for someone like her, but the other packs in the area left her alone, as sure as she left them. She could never seem to explain her compulsion to just wander around on her own, or the fact that it didn’t particularly bother her. Lowe was not lonely. She did not need others, and she was not interested in others either. 

Whenever she did encounter anyone else, be it her own species or not, she always tried to peacefully retreat. Some of the fae could get overly territorial, especially when they realized she was a wolf. Werewolves were some of the most territorial of the fae, and they would die fighting for a tiny strip of land.

Not Lowe. She was not interested in conflict now, but something was scratching at her instincts. The growl was pure reflex. 

The water rippled around her, splashing softly against her thighs. A tail breached the surface of the water suddenly and without warning, moonlight glittering along pretty green scales before the tail slashed down and sent a small wave of water right into Lowe. She was surprised and caught off guard, and so the water swept her right away.

Lowe hated the water, actually. She didn’t like how it felt against her skin, how there was no purchase for her grappling hands. She could never swim without getting water down her nose, and she absolutely despised the burning sensation when she breathed some in. She was swept farther out than she was comfortable ever venturing, to where it was much deeper. Lowe started to sink, the sudden panic blinding her. She struggled and sputtered, and nearly breathed water into her lungs if it was not for warm hands suddenly cupping her face, stilling her chaos.

Lowe’s body went limp, and then she opened her eyes and stared forward. Glowing eyes stared right back. She was beautiful. Lowe knew of the merpeople, but she had never met one this far south before. They preferred the colder weather up north, and most of their underwater civilizations were there. 

Her webbed hands were steady and comforting against Lowe’s cheeks. Despite the hefty claws at their ends, she was surprisingly unafraid. All the mermaid was doing was staring at her with her deep, beautiful green eyes. Her pale hair swirled around her, still upset by Lowe’s panicked flailing. 

Lowe stared at this lovely creature as the mermaid stared back, and then her lungs began to scream for air, and she let out a big bubble of panic. The mermaid’s eyes widened in realization, and then the warmth of her touch disappeared and Lowe was being dragged upwards. When she breached the surface, she took in loud, heavy gulps of air.

“Shadows,” Lowe cursed aloud, voice thick and scratchy from disuse and her natural low timbre. 

A nervous laugh filled the air. “I’m so sorry for startling you.”

Lowe was struck dumb by the beauty of her voice and the unexpectedly soft look in her eyes. Out of the water and in the air, the mer looked less dangerous. She was still an exceptional predator, but Lowe’s original fear had vanished.

In its place was simple sapphic yearning. 

“Why’d you sweep me off?” she grumbled, unsure exactly how to respond, always awkward when having to speak to anyone that was not herself.

The mer swam closer. Her big, strong tail created strong currents in the water, but Lowe kept herself afloat. 

“You looked a little scared,” the mer told her with another giggle. “I couldn’t resist.”

Lowe growled low in her chest, but the mer only blinked curiously at her. “I’m Lowe.”

The mer stopped swimming circles around her and drew to a sudden stop. She seemed surprised, and then delighted. “Lowe, what a lovely name! I am honoured, Lowe, to meet one of the wolf people.”

Lowe flushed. “Our kinds don’t usually meet.”

Her tail swished abruptly. “A true observation. My name is Cleo, Lowe.”

“You’re very far from home, Cleo.”

Cleo glanced away and laughed again. Lowe thought that she would respond, but then she sank under the water without even a sound, and Lowe thought she would simply disappear. Cleo circled even closer to her, so close that the edge of her top fin slid across Lowe’s belly. It made her shiver. 

For the first time in a long time, Lowe found herself oddly transfixed by this person. She felt a flood of relief when Cleo surfaced, whipping her hair back and wiping the golden locks from her smooth face. At first Lowe had thought she simply had grey skin, but this close she could see a slight green tint. The mer all had such interesting colouring to their skin and scales.

“I’m unlike my kin,” Cleo told her around a smile. “I prefer warmer waters.”

Lowe let out a rough laugh. “I’m much the same, but the kin part.”

Cleo’s eyes were twinkling, and in them Lowe felt a pull. “We are?”

Lowe realized that she was still in the water for no good reason, so she turned and started swimming for dry land. She could feel Cleo following closely, and then she was shaking the water from her skin before it evaporated due to her body heat, and Cleo was pulling herself out of the water by her arms. She stopped only when her upper fins dug into the mud. 

Lowe plopped down on her backside. Cleo was watching her intently, and Lowe was curious as to what her motives were, why she was here at all. Before she knew what she was doing, she was talking. She told Cleo about her childhood, how she had been living among the humans in one of the four kingdoms, until the new king ascended and outlawed all fae from his land. Cleo in turn told her of her tragedies, how she had fallen in love with a sailorwoman, only for this woman to have been a fae hunter in disguise. 

They spoke until the morning sun streaked over the calm river water, glittering brighter now against Cleo’s scales. There was a tint of blue to them that Lowe was only now noticing .

She was nocturnal, so when the sun came out her eyes began to droop. Cleo had already dried of the river water, and though she used her great tail to spray herself, she was clearly uncomfortable being out for so long. Reluctantly, Lowe reached out with her hand to offer her farewell.

“Thank you for the hours of conversation,” Lowe told her genuinely, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt, and confused by the feeling. 

Cleo didn’t seem to understand the intent for a hand-shake, and instead she simply pressed their palms together. She intertwined their fingers as much as she could with the webbing between her own, and it still sent a strange jolt through Lowe’s heart.

“You’re most welcome, Lowe,” Cleo told her. She brushed a finger against Lowe’s thumb. “I did not expect to meet someone like you here, or to find you so fascinating.”

Lowe chuckled. “I did not expect something like you either.”

“Life is all but a collection of little coincidences, is it not?” Cleo smiled, and though her teeth were sharp and deadly, she still made for the most breathtakingly beautiful sight Lowe had ever seen. It hit her right in the heart, nearly stole her breath, and Lowe quickly withdrew her hand. She swallowed, cleared her throat and then scrambled to her feet. She was already beginning to shift, her fur growing out around her body, her muscles thickening and limbs elongating.

“Thank you,” Cleo told her softly. She stroked her damp hand through the fur around Lowe’s knee, and then she wiggled back into the water and disappeared. 

Lowe thought about her often, but Cleo never returned to that area of the river. Sometimes Lowe would howl into the night, forlorn that her strange visitor had abandoned her, confused that she cared at all. 

Lowe grew lonely. 

She wondered if this would be her fate, to finally want something more than just herself, but to be denied. If that was her fate, then there was nothing for her to do but bend her knee and allow it. However, Cleo had other ideas.

Lowe was waist deep in the water again, scrubbing the grime off her abs when she heard a break in the water. It was almost too faint to pull her attention— _ almost _ . When Lowe saw the familiar green scaled tail, her heart leapt into her throat. Without thinking she started crazily wading into the water, and then she had Cleo in her arms. Cleo sputtered on a surprised laugh, and when Lowe felt two soft legs press to her own, it was her turn to sputter.

“I’m sorry I disappeared,” Cleo spoke against her ear. “I hibernated so that I could transform.”

Lowe swallowed thickly. In the split second she had wrapped her arms around Cleo’s body, she had turned from mer to human woman. There were still the pointed ears and unnaturally green eyes, but to the ignorant she looked as human as the rest. 

“You transformed?”

Cleo laughed into her shoulder. “Of course I did. You’re a wolf, Lowe. I can’t possibly seduce you into the water with me, now can I?”

Lowe’s cheeks warmed with a blush that travelled down to her shoulders. With that came the realization that they were both actually naked, and Cleo’s breasts were pressed to her own. She was much thinner than Lowe. Lowe had a naturally big, muscular body thanks to her genetics. Where she was bulky, Cleo was lithe. Clumsy when they stepped out of the water, but graceful even as she stumbled. 

“Seduce me, huh?” Lowe mumbled, still flushing darkly.

Cleo’s laughter was lovestruck. “I may have been planning this for longer than you think.”

“Longer?”

“I noticed you before.”

Lowe made a rumbling noise in her chest, because she simply did not know how to respond to that. Had her tail been out, it would have been wildly thumping, and  _ that _ was embarrassing.

They were sitting down on the riverbank, and Cleo’s long fingers slid between Lowe’s much bigger ones. Their hands somehow slotted perfectly together, and Lowe was hit with an odd sense of rightness.

“Is this okay?” Cleo asked her, genuine concern in her eyes.

Lowe took in a clear breath. “Better than okay,” she answered. 

The surface of the water was calm, as was the beating of Lowe’s heart. Beside her, Cleo was warm and solid, and the weight of her hand was a comfort.

Just like that, the loneliness ebbed away. This was so new, and frightening, and Lowe was not certain what to do, or where they would go, but she knew one thing for certain.

Where Cleo went, she would follow. 


End file.
